Tag Archives: F/A-18A

Canadian Hornet Visits BFI

Digging back through some stuff from last year and I came back across a surprise that I got at BFI. A Canadian Hornet had been visiting – presumably an overnight stop. It was heading off to its next stop and I have no idea whether that was back over the border or further into the US. Its presence had clearly attracted a fair bit of attention. There were loads of people out on the Modern ramp when it taxied out.

Hornets can get off the ground pretty quickly and I was hoping that the pilot would not be very high by the time he came by. With all of those people on the ramp, it would be nice of him to keep it low and he didn’t stay on the deck but still made a good effort. As he passed the perimeter fence, he pulled up a bit harder and was a bit too distant for a good shot of the vortices forming on the LERX, but I managed a hint of it.

Refueling the Hornet

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Two quite different versions of the same thing here. The Comox Air Show this year included demonstrations are aerial refueling with the RCAF Hornet. The first of these was perfectly sensible because it was the Hornet formating on the C-130 Hercules fitted with refueling pods. The Hornet took up station behind the drogue units to demonstrate how refueling would be done.

Later in the show, there was a slightly odder version of things. A USAF KC-135R Stratotanker (which was carrying Kadena tailcodes which might be a first for me) was airborne and the Hornet formated on this too. Some KC-135s do carry hose drogue units on the wings or a drogue adaptor on the end of the boom but this was not one of them. Instead, they simulated the boom refueling. The Hornet can’t refuel from the boom but, since it was just an airshow, I doubt too many people were bothered by this.

Canadian Air Force 100th Anniversary Hornet

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The Comox AFB air show was the first public display of the special anniversary painted CF-188A Hornet for the Canadian Air Force’s 100^th birthday. There had been some photo sorties undertaken in the weeks before the show to support some upcoming appearances, but this was its first public outing. They pulled the jet out to the center of the crowd line for crewing and start up and it returned there after its display was complete.

The paint scheme is really impressive, and I hope the aging jet can stay serviceable throughout the season, so air show attendees get to see it in the air. It does look very good. The RCAF does seem to have a good history of painting demo jets really well and they must be very pleased with this one. The light was a bit variable while it flew but I was happy with some of the shots I got of it. One the ground it also looked great, particularly close up.

Doesn’t Everyone Have a Hornet by the Front Door?

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When deciding on what garden furniture to have, there are many options. You could have some garden gnomes, maybe a stone lion, all sorts of possibilities. Most of these are because most people don’t have access to a fast jet. If you do, and the California Science Center does, you’d stick a Hornet outside the front door. It was in the shade from the building in the morning I was there, but I thought it provided just the right amount of gravitas.

RCAF Hornet Tests High ISO Performance

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The later stages of the Abbotsford Air Show included a performance by the RCAF CF-188A Hornet. By the time it was performing, the light was pretty much gone. The late performance has some benefits in that the burners are more striking against a darker sky, but the RCAF display often ends with a landing with the hook lowered. I had seen this before at Chino and the same problem as happened there occurred here. The touchdown point was a long way away from the spectator line, so it was too far away to get a decent shot.

However, there was the rest of the display to go for. My current cameras seem very able to handle low light conditions. The focus might be a touch slower or less accurate as the light diminishes but I wasn’t noticing a significant problem. Also, the high ISO capabilities of current generation cameras are really impressive so shooting in such conditions is not necessarily a problem. The camera will be able to perform although that won’t compensate for a jet just not looking that good with so little light. You still have to pick your shots.

The Hornet is a good display jet with the ability to point the nose in different directions rapidly and to pull a decent amount of vapor from the air. It can turn and it can blast through, so it makes for a good show. Original generation Hornets are starting to become a rarity. It won’t be long before the Canadian jets have been replaced by F-35s. Other operators have already transitioned and more will follow. Catch the legacy Hornets while you can and, preferably, in interesting lighting conditions.

Lancaster Jets On Sticks

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My friend, Paul, had advised me that Lancaster CA had a couple of aircraft on poles that were worth a look. One is a retired Air Force test F-4 that sits at a busy intersection next to a rail station. The other is a NASA F/A-18A that is at the entrance to a baseball stadium. I decided to try and photograph both one evening when the light would be most favorable.

The guys hanging out near the F-4 looked a little perplexed as I drove up and started photographing this plane on a pole. I think they didn’t see the interest in it that I did. I think I attracted a few strange glances and I grabbed some shots and then headed back to the car. The Hornet at the baseball stadium was a different story. Not too many people around at that time so I took some shots and then headed off. There was one more target of interest but that would have to wait for a morning visit.